Prompt Tuning: kelos-workers prompt missing PR template compliance (kind labels, release-note blocks)

[kelos-bot]

🤖 Kelos Agent @gjkim42

Area: Prompt Tuning

Summary

The kelos-workers prompt does not instruct agents to follow the project's PR template (.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md), resulting in nearly all agent PRs missing /kind labels and release-note blocks. The agentconfig.yaml agentsMD also omits the "Pull Requests" conventions from CLAUDE.md. This is a systemic prompt gap — not covered by #515 (which focuses on agentconfig drift for build/test conventions and missing types/state fields).

Evidence

1. CLAUDE.md requires PR template compliance, but neither agentconfig nor worker prompt mentions it

CLAUDE.md has a dedicated "Pull Requests" section:

## Pull Requests
- **Always follow `.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md`** when creating PRs.
- Fill in every section of the template. Do not remove or skip sections — use "N/A" or "NONE" where appropriate.
- Choose exactly one `/kind` label from: `bug`, `cleanup`, `documentation`, `feature`.
- If there is no associated issue, write "N/A" under the issue section.
- If the PR does not introduce a user-facing change, write "NONE" in the `release-note` block.

Neither agentconfig.yaml agentsMD nor the kelos-workers.yaml promptTemplate reference any of these conventions.

2. Data: 27 of the last 30 agent PRs lack /kind labels

Analyzing recent generated-by-kelos PRs:

PR	Has /kind in body	Has release-note block	Has needs-kind label
#536	✅	✅	✅ (not yet triaged)
#535	✅	✅	✅ (not yet triaged)
#534	✅	✅	✅ (not yet triaged)
#525	❌	✅ (custom format)	❌ (triaged externally)
#524	❌	❌	✅
#523	✅	✅	❌ (triaged externally)
#521	❌	✅	✅
#514	❌	❌	✅
#512	❌	❌	✅
#510	❌	❌	✅
#505–#462	❌	❌	✅

Only 4 of 30 PRs include a /kind label. The 3 most recent (#534-536) likely picked up the convention from the .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md file itself (since PR #521 added it), but this is inconsistent and unreliable.

3. New CI checks highlight the gap but don't fix agent behavior

PRs #530, #531, #534, and #535 recently added CI enforcement that labels PRs with needs-kind and needs-release-note when they lack these fields. This is a good enforcement mechanism, but it doesn't fix the root cause — the worker agent prompt doesn't know about these requirements. The result: agents create PRs → CI adds needs-kind → PR is blocked → but the agent has already finished its work and can't fix it.

4. Worker prompt gives partial PR body instructions but misses template sections

The current worker prompt says:

The PR body MUST contain a standard closing keyword reference on its own line (e.g., `Fixes #{{.Number}}` or `Closes #{{.Number}}`). Do not embed the issue number in natural language.

This addresses one aspect of PR body formatting but omits the template structure entirely. The agent doesn't know it should include:

• #### What type of PR is this? with a /kind label
• #### Which issue(s) this PR is related to:
• #### Special notes for your reviewer:
• #### Does this PR introduce a user-facing change? with a release-note block

Proposed Changes

1. Add PR conventions to agentconfig.yaml agentsMD

Add the "Pull Requests" section from CLAUDE.md to the shared agent config:

    ## Pull Requests
    - Always follow `.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md` when creating PRs
    - Fill in every section of the template. Do not remove or skip sections — use "N/A" or "NONE" where appropriate
    - Choose exactly one `/kind` label from: `bug`, `cleanup`, `documentation`, `feature`
    - If the PR does not introduce a user-facing change, write "NONE" in the `release-note` block

2. Update kelos-workers.yaml prompt for PR creation (step 5b)

Replace the current step 5b instruction:

- 5b. Create a PR with labels "generated-by-kelos" and "ok-to-test" (use `gh pr create --label generated-by-kelos --label ok-to-test`), then /review it.

With:

- 5b. Create a PR following the `.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md` format. The PR body must include:
  - `#### What type of PR is this?` with exactly one `/kind <type>` (bug, cleanup, documentation, or feature)
  - `#### What this PR does / why we need it:` with a summary of the changes
  - `#### Which issue(s) this PR is related to:` with `Fixes #{{.Number}}` on its own line
  - `#### Special notes for your reviewer:` (use "N/A" if none)
  - `#### Does this PR introduce a user-facing change?` with a `release-note` block (use "NONE" if no user-facing change)
  Use `gh pr create --label generated-by-kelos --label ok-to-test`, then /review it.

3. Update step 7a (existing PR update path) similarly

Ensure the PR update path (step 7a) also enforces template compliance when updating PR descriptions.

Impact

• Immediate: Agent PRs will pass the new needs-kind and needs-release-note CI checks on first submission
• Release notes: The hack/release-notes/main.go tool (added in Add categorized release notes tool #521) parses release-note blocks from PR bodies — agent PRs without these blocks won't appear in release notes
• Reduced maintainer burden: Maintainers won't need to manually add /kind labels to every agent PR
• Consistency: Agent PRs will match the same format as human PRs

Related Issues

• Workflow: AgentConfig drifted from CLAUDE.md and kelos-workers missing explicit issue filters #515 — AgentConfig drift from CLAUDE.md (covers build/test conventions; does NOT cover PR template)
• Workflow: Harden kelos-workers prompt to reduce closed-without-merge rate #508 — Prompt hardening for workers (addressed scope creep and other patterns; did NOT address PR template)
• label needs-release-note if there's no release note for PR #530/add checks for needs-kind and needs-release-note #531 — CI enforcement for needs-kind/needs-release-note (enforcement side; this issue is the prompt fix)

[kelos-bot]

🤖 Kelos Agent @gjkim42

Kelos Triage Report

Kind: kind/bug
Priority: priority/important-soon — Agent PRs are actively blocked by CI checks (needs-kind, needs-release-note) that agents cannot self-remediate, creating a broken submit loop on every agent PR.
Actor: actor/kelos — Changes are well-scoped YAML config edits to agentconfig.yaml and kelos-workers.yaml with clear specifications.

Status: STILL VALID

Evidence:

• self-development/agentconfig.yaml agentsMD (lines 6-32) contains no mention of PR template compliance, /kind labels, or release-note blocks. The "Pull Requests" section from CLAUDE.md (lines 20-25) is entirely absent.
• self-development/kelos-workers.yaml prompt (lines 41-83) has partial PR body instructions (closing keyword reference) but no PR template structure, /kind label, or release-note block instructions in steps 5b, 6b, or 7a.
• .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md exists and defines the expected format with /kind, issue references, reviewer notes, and release-note blocks.
• No merged PRs or commits reference issue Prompt Tuning: kelos-workers prompt missing PR template compliance (kind labels, release-note blocks) #538. No changes to self-development/ since commit 116655d (PR Support skills.sh packages in AgentConfig #523).
• CI enforcement via label needs-release-note if there's no release note for PR #530/add checks for needs-kind and needs-release-note #531 is active, meaning agent PRs get needs-kind/needs-release-note labels but agents have already finished and cannot fix them.

Duplicates found: None found. #515 covers agentconfig drift for build/test conventions and missing types/state fields but explicitly does NOT cover the Pull Requests section or worker prompt PR creation instructions. This issue addresses a distinct, non-overlapping gap.

Recommendation: KEEP OPEN — The prompt gap is confirmed in both config files, the problem is actively causing agent PRs to fail CI, and the proposed fix is concrete and well-scoped.